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Courageous in Youth 
Exalted in Manhood 
Beloved in Old Age 




SQaVENIR 



COMPLIMENTS OF THE 
NATIONAL FRATERNAL LEAGUE 

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 




cy.^n COPY, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 



Arrang^an^Fublished 
By GEO.^ HMVOODRUFF 



NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT: 

1899 






29412 



Copyright 1899 
By GEORGE H. WOODRUFF. 



TWO eOHIKS (^«ei:ivEQ. 




\'b^'^'^ 



^«)i,.vi.cta, 



Heaven's high behest no preface needs.—Milton. 



"It was a custom among the ancient Romans," says an 
eminent writer, " to preserve, in wax, the figures of those, among 
their ancestors, who were of noble birth, or had been more nobly 
advanced to the chair of honor by their personal merits and rare ex- 
ploits. Sallust relates, that— 'Scipio, and other great men, by be- 
holding those likenesses, found enkindled in their breasts so ardent 
a thirst after virtue as could not be extinguished, till, by the glory of 
their own actions they had equalled the illustrious objects of their 
emulation.'— These means and motives maybe very good, but it 
belorigs to Christianity alone to inspire her most affectionate friends 
with views infinitely higher and more imperishable. The good 
sense and experience of mankind, confirmed by the lapse of ages, 
have fixed this point, that example is that sort of silent rhetoric 
which at the same time convinces and persuades." 

In every respect a great and meritorious man, George Wash- 
ington was an example to the world, and in Masonic Circles his 
memory will always be cherished as that of an Ideal Man and 
Mason. The 100th anniversary of his death will be celebrated with 
fitting ceremonies by the Free Masons of the United States, under 
the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, at Alexandria and 
Mt. Vernon, on December 14th, 1899. It is not, therefore, 
wholly from mercenary motives, nor without some sense of 
propriety, that the National Fraternal League, an association 
organized by Masons and for Masons, presents this Biographical 
Sketch at this time to the seventeen thousand members of the 
Fraternity in Connecticut. 

The subject matter of the sketch is a collection from various 
historical sources, with no attempt at anything but a very mod- 
est portrayal of those important events in the life of Washington 
which will ever be of universal interest. 



G. H. w. 



"No species of writing seems more 
worthy of cultivation than biography, 
since none can be more dehghtful or 
more useful, nor can more certainly 
enchain the heart by irresistible in- 
terest, or more widely diffuse instruction 
to every diversity of condition." — Dr. 
Samuel Johnson. 



(Beorge Masbingtott, 

Commander-in-Chief of the American army during the war with 
Great Britain, and first President of the United States, was the 
son of Augustine Washington,^ and was born at a place then 
known as Bridges' Creek, in the county of Westmoreland, Vir- 
ginia, February 22, 17 32. His great-grandfather, John Wash- 
ington, had imigrated to that place from the north of England, 
about the year 1657. At the age of twelve years he lost his father, 
and the patrimonial estate descended to his elder half-brother, 
Lawrence Washington, who, in the year 1740, had been engaged 
in the expedition against Carthagena. In honor of Admiral Ver- 
non, who commanded the fleet employed in that enterprise, the 
estate was called Mount Vernon. 

At the age of fifteen, agreeably to his brother's, as well as 
his own urgent request, to enter into the British navy, the place of 
a midshipman in a vessel of war, then stationed on the coast of 
Virginia, was obtained for him. Everything was in readiness for 
his departure, when the fears of a timid and affectionate mother 
prevailed upon him to abandon his proposed career on the ocean, 
and were the means of retaining him upon the land to be the future 
vindicator of his country's rights. All the advantages of educa- 
tion which he enjoyed were derived from a private tutor, who 
instructed him in English literature and the general principles of 
science. After his disappointment with regard to entering the 
navy, he devoted much of his time to the study of the mathemat- 
ics, and, in the practice of his profession as a surveyor, he had an 
opportunity of acquiring that information respecting the value of 
vacant lands which afterwards greatly contributed to the increase 
of his private fortune. 

1. Augustine Washington was twice married. By his first marriage with Jane Butler, there 
were four children; by his second marriage with Mary Ball, in 1730, there were six children, of 
which George was the oldest. 



At the age of nineteen, when the mihtia of Vh'ginia were to 
be trained for actual service, he was appointed an adjutant gen- 
eral with the rank of major. It was for a veVy short time that he 
discharged the duties of this office. In the year 1T53, the plan 
formed by France for connecting Canada with Louisiana by a line 
of posts, and thus of enclosing the British colonies and of estab- 
lishing her influence over the numerous tribes of Indians on the 
frontiers, began to be developed. In the prosecution of this 
design possession had been taken of a tract of land then believed to 
be within the province of Virginia. Dinwiddle, the lieutenant 
governor, being determined to remonstrate against the supposed 
encroachment and violation of the treaties between the two coun- 
tries, despatched Major Washington through the wilderness to the 
Ohio, to deliver a letter to the commanding officer of the French, 
and also to^explore the country. 

This trust of danger and fatigue he executed with great ability. 
He left Williamsburg, October 31, 1753, the very day on which he 
received his commission, and at the frontier settlement of the Eng- 
lish engaged guides to conduct him over the Allegheny mountains. 
After passing them he pursued his route to the Monongahela, 
examining the country with a militar}" eye, and taking the most 
judicious means for securing the friendship of the Indians. He 
selected the forks of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers as a 
position which ought to be immediately possessed and fortified. 
At this place the French very soon erected Fort DuQuesne, which 
fell into the hands of the Enghsh in 1758, and was called by them 
Fort Pitt.^ Pursuing his way up the Allegheny to French Creek, 
he found at the fort upon this stream the commanding officer, to 
whom he delivered the letter from Mr. Dinwiddle. On his return 
he encountered great difficulties and dangers. As the snow was 
deep and the horses weak from fatigue, he left his attendants at 
the mouth of French Creek, and set out on foot, with his papers 
and provisions in his pack, accompanied only by a pilot by the 
name of Gist. At a place upon the Allegheny, called Murdering 
Town, they fell in with a hostile Indian who was one of a party 
then lying in wait, and who fired upon them not ten steps distant. 

2. The present site of the city of Pittsburgh, Pa. 



They took him into custody and kept him until nine o'clock, and 
then let him go. To avoid pursuit, which they presumed would 
be commenced in the morning, they traveled all night. On reach- 
ing the Monongahela, they had a hard day's work to make a raft 
with a hatchet. In attempting to cross the river to reach a 
trader's house, they were enclosed by masses of ice. In order to 
stop the raft. Major Washington put down his setting pole, but 
the ice came with such force against it, as to jerk him into the 
water. He saved himself by seizing one of the raft logs. With 
difficulty they landed on an island, where they passed the night. 
The cold was so severe that the pilot's hands and feet were frozen. 
.The next day they crossed the river upon the ice. Washington 
arrived at Williamsburg, January 16, 1754. His journal, which 
evinced the solidity of his judgment and his fortitude, was pub- 
lished. 

As the French seemed disposed to remain on the Ohio, it was 
determined to raise a regiment of three hundred men to maintain 
the claims of the British Crown. The command was given to a 
Mr. Fry ; and Major AVashington, who was appointed lieutenant 
. colonel, marched with two companies early in April, 1754, in 
advance of the other troops. A few miles west of the Great 
Meadows he surprised a French encampment in a dark, rainy 
night, and only one man escaped. Before the arrival of the two 
remaining companies, Mr. Fr}- died, and the command now fell 
on Colonel Washington. Being joined by two other companies 
of regular troops from South Carolina and New York, after 
erecting a small stockade at the Great Meadows, he proceeded 
towards Fort Du Quesne, which had been built but a short time, 
with the intention of dislodging the French. He had marched 
only thirceen miles to the westernmost foot of Laurel Hill, before 
he received information of the approach of the enemy with supe- 
rior numbers, and was induced to return to his stockade. He 
began a ditch around it, and called it Fort Necessity ; but the next 
day, July 3, he was attacked by fifteen hundred men. His own 
troops were only about four hundred in number. The action com- 
menced at ten in the morning and lasted until dark. A part of 
the Americans fought within the fort, and a part in the ditch 



filled with mud and water. Colonel Washington was himself on 
the outside of the fort during the whole day. The enemy fought 
under cover of the trees and high grass. In the course of the 
night articles of capitulation were agreed upon. The garrison 
were allowed to retain their arms and baggage, and to march 
unmolested to the inhabited parts of Virginia. The loss of the 
Americans in killed and wounded was supposed to be about a 
hundred, and that of the enemy about two hundred. In a few 
months afterwards orders were received for settling the rank of 
the officers, and those who were commissioned by the King being 
directed to take rank of the provincial officers, Colonel Washing- 
ton indignantly resigned his commission. He now retired to 
Mount Vernon, that estate, by the death of his brother, having 
devolved upon him. 

In the Spring of 1755, he accepted an invitation from Gen- 
eral Braddock to enter his family as a volunteer aid-de-camp in 
his expedition to the Ohio. He proceeded with him to Wills' 
Creek, afterwards called Fort Cumberland, in April. After the 
troops had marched a few miles from this place, he was seized 
with a raging fever, but, refusing to remain behind, he was con- 
A^eyed in a covered wagon. By his advice twelve hundred men 
were detached in order to reach Fort DuQuesne before an expected 
reinforcement should be received at that place. These disencum- 
bered troops were commanded by Braddock himself, and Colonel 
Washington, though still extremely ill, insisted on proceeding 
with them. After they arrived upon the Monongahela he advised 
"the General to employ the ranging companies of Virginia to scour 
the woods and to prevent ambuscades ; but his advice was not 
followed. On the ninth of July, when the army w^as within seven 
miles of the Fort DuQuesne, the enemy commenced a sudden and 
furious attack, being concealed by the wood and high grass. 
Washington was the only aid that was unwounded, and on him 
devolved the whole duty of carrying the orders of the commander- 
in-chief. Though he had two horses shot under him, and four balls 
through his coat, he escaped unhurt, while every officer on horse- 
back was either killed or wounded. Dr. Craik, the physician who 
attended him in his last sickness, was present in this battle, and 

10 



says: " I expected every moment to see him fall. Nothing but 
the superintending care of Providence could have saved him from 
the fate of all around him." After an action of three hours the 
troops gave way in all directions, and Colonel Washington and 
two others brought off Braddock, who had been mortally wounded. 
He attempted to rally the retreating troops, but, as he says him- 
self, it was hke endeavoring to stop the wild bears of the moun- 
tains. The conduct of the regular troops was most cowardly. 
The enemy were few in munbers and had no expectation of vic- 
tory. In a sermon occasioned by this expedition the Rev. Dr. 
Davies, of Hanover county, thus prophetically expressed himself : 
"As a remarkable instance of patriotism I may point out to the 
public that heroic youth. Colonel Washington, whom I cannofbut 
hope Providence has hitherto preserved in so signal a manner for 
some important service to his country." For this purpose he was 
indeed preserved, and at the end of twenty years he began to 
render his country more important services than the minister 
could have anticipated. 

From 1755 to 1758 he commanded a regiment which was 
raised for the protection of the frontiers, and during this period 
he was incessantly occupied in efforts to shield the exposed settle- 
ments from the incursions of the savages. His exertions were in 
a great degree ineffectual, in consequence of the errors and the 
pride of government, and of the impossibility of guarding, with a 
few troops, an extended territory from an enemy who were adverse 
to open warfare. He in the most earnest manner recommended 
offensive measures as the only method of giving complete protec- 
tion to the sacred settlements. In the year 1758, to his great joy, 
it was determined to undertake another expedition against Fort 
DuQuesne, and he engaged in it with zeal. Early in July the 
troops were assembled at Fort Cumberland, and here, against all 
the remonstrances and arguments of Colonel Washington, Gen- 
eral Forbes resolved to open a new road to the Ohio, instead of 
taking the old route. Such was the predicted delay, occasioned 
by this measure, that in November it was resolved not to proceed 
further during that campaign. But intelligence of the weakness 
of the garrison induced an alteration of the plan of passing the 



winter in the wilderness. By slow marches they were enabled on 
the 25th of November, to reach Fort DuQuesne, of which peace- 
ful possession was taken, as the enemy on the preceding night set- 
ting it on 'fire had abandoned it, and proceeded down the Ohio. 
The works in this place were repaired, and its name was changed 
to that of Fort Pitt. The success of the expedition was to be 
attributed to the British fleet, which intercepted reinforcements 
destined for Canada., and to events in the Northern colonies. The 
great object, which he had been anxious to effect, being now 
accomplished, and his health being enfeebled, Colonel Washington 
resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the troops 
raised in Virginia. 

Soon after his resignation he married Mrs. Custis, a widow, 
a young lady, to whom he had been for some time strongly 
attached, and who, to a large fortune and a fine person, added 
those amiable accomplishments which fill with silent felicity the 
scenes of domestic life. His attention for several years was prin- 
cipally directed to the management of his estate, which had now 
become considerable. He had nine thousand acres under his own 
management. So great a part was cultivated, that in one year he 
raised seven thousand bushels of wheat and ten thousand bushels 
of Indian corn. His slaves, and other persons emploj^ed by him, 
amounted to near a thousand, and the woollen and linen cloth 
necessary for their use was chiefly manufactured on the estate. 
He was at this period a respectable member of the Legislature of 
Virginia, in which he took a decided part in opposition to the 
principle of taxation asserted by the British Parliament. He also 
acted as a judge of a county court. 

In 1774 he was elected a member of the first Congress, and 
was placed on all those committees whose duty it was to make 
arrangements for defence. In the following year, after the battles 
of Lexington and Concord, when it was determined by Congress 
to resort to arms. Colonel Washington was unanimously elected 
commander-in-chief of the army of the United Colonies.^ All 
were satisfied as to his quahfications, and the delegates from New 
England were particularly pleased with his election, as it would 

3. He was elected Thursday, June 15, 1T75. 
12 



tend to unite the southern colonies cordially in the war. He 
accepted the appointment with diffidence, and expressed his inten- 
tion of receiving no compensation for his services, and only a mere 
discharge of his expenses. He immediately repaired to Cam- 
bridge, Mass., where he arrived on the 2nd of July. He formed 
the army into three divisions in order the more effectually to 
enclose the enemy, entrusting the division at Roxbury to General 
Ward, the division on Prospect and Winter Hills to General Lee, 
and commanding himself the centre at Cambridge. Here he had 
to struggle with great difficulties, with the want of ammunition, 
clothing and magazines, defect of arms and discipline, and the 
evils of short enlistments ; but, instead of yielding to despondence, 
he bent the whole force of his mind to overcome them. He soon 
made the alarming discovery that there was only sufficient powder 
on hand to furnish the army with nine cartridges for each man. 
With the greatest caution to keep this fact a secret, the utmost 
exertions were employed to procure a supply. Two vessels which 
had been dispatched to Africa obtained in exchange for N. E. 
rum all the gunpowder in the British forts ;^ and in the begin- 
ning of winter Captain Manly captured an ordnance brig, which 
furnished the American army with the precise articles of which it 
was in the greatest want. In September, General Washington 
despatched Arnold on an expedition against Quebec. In Febru- 
ary, 1776, he proposed to a council of his officers to cross the ice 
and attack the enemy in Boston, but they unanimously disap- 
proved of the daring measure. It was, however, soon resolved to 
take possession of the heights of Dorchester. This was done 
without discovery on the night of the 4th of March, and on the 
17th the enemy found it necessary to evacuate the town. The 
recovery of Boston induced Congress to pass a vote of thanks to 
General Washington and his brave armv. 

In the belief that the efforts of the British would be directed 
towards the Hudson, he hastened the army to New York, where 
he himself arrived on the 14th of April. He made every exertion 
to fortify the city. While he met with the most embarrassing dif- 

4. The two vessels were sent to Africa from Newport, R. I., early in 17T5, before Washing- 
ton was commissioned. 

13 



ficulties, a plan was formed to assist the enemy in seizing his per- 
son, and some of his own guards engaged in the conspiracy ; but 
it was discovered, and some who were concerned in it Avere exe- 
cuted. In the beginning of July, General Howe landed his 
troops at Staten Island, His brother, Lord Howe, who com- 
manded the fleet, soon arrived, and as both were commissioners 
for restoring peace to the Colonies, the latter addressed a letter to 
" George Washington, Esq," but the General refused to receive 
it, as it did not acknowledge the public character with which he 
was invested by Congress, in which character only he could have 
any intercourse with his lordship. Another letter was sent to 
" George Washington, etc., etc., etc." This, for the same reason, 
was rejected. After the disastrous battle of Brooklyn on the 
27th of August, in which Stirling and Sullivan were taken prison- 
ers, and of which he was only a spectator, he withdrew the troops 
from Long Island, and in a few days he resolved to withdraw 
from New York. At a point then designated as Kipp's bay, 
about three miles from the city, some works had been thrown up 
to oppose the enemy ; but, on their approach, the American troops 
fled with precipitation. Washington rode towards the lines, and 
made every exertion to prevent the disgraceful flight. He drew 
his sword and threatened to run the cowards through ; he cocked 
and snapped his jjistols; but it was in vain. Such was the state 
of his mind at this moment that he turned his horse towards the 
advancing enemy, apj^arently with the intention of rushing upon 
death. His aids now seized the bridle of his horse and rescued 
him from destruction. JTew York was, on the same day, Sep- 
tember 15th, evacuated. 

In October he retreated to White Plains, where, on the 28tli, a 
considerable action took place, in which the Americans were 
overpowered. After the loss of Forts Washington and Lee he 
passed into New Jersey in November, and was pursued by a tri- 
umphant and numerous enemy. His army did not amount to 
three thousand, and it was daily diminishing; his men, as the 
winter commenced, were barefooted and almost naked, destitute 
of tents, and of utensils with which to diess their scanty pro- 
visions; and every circumstance tended to fill the mind with 



despondence. But General Washington was undismayed and 
firm. He showed himself to his enfeebled army with a serene and 
unembarrassed countenance, and they were inspired with the 
resolution of their commander. On the 8th of December he was 
obhged to cross the Delaware ; but he had the precaution to secure 
the boats for seventy miles upon the river, while the British were 
waiting for the ice to afford them passage. As his own army had 
been reinforced by several thousand men, he formed the resolu- 
tion of carrying the cantonments of the enemy by surprise. On 
the night of the 25th of December he crossed the river nine miles 
above Trenton, in a storm of snow mingled with hail and rain, 
with about two thousand and four hundred men. Two other 
detachments were unable to effect a passage. In the morning, 
precisely at 8 o'clock, he surprised Trenton and took a thousand 
Hessians prisoners, a thousand stand of arms, and six field-pieces. 
Twenty of the enemy were killed. Of the Americans two privates 
were killed and two frozen to death, and one officer and three or 
four privates were wounded. On the same day he re-crossed the 
Delaware with the fruits of his enterprise ; but in two or three 
days passed again into New Jersey, and concentrated his forces, 
amounting to five thousand, at Trenton. On the approach of a 
superior enemy under Cornwallis, January 2, 1777, he drew up 
his men, expecting an attack in the morning which would prob- 
abh^ terminate in a ruinous defeat. At this moment when it was 
hazardous, if not impracticable, to return into Pennsylvania, he 
formed the resolution of getting into the rear of the enemy and 
thus stop them in their progress towards Philadelphia. In the 
night he silently decamped, taking a circuitous route through 
Allentown to Princeton. A sudden change of the weather to 
severe cold rendered the roads favorable for his march. About 
sunrise his van met a British detachment on its way to join Corn- 
wallis, and was defeated by it; but as he came up he exposed 
himself to every danger and gained a victory. With three hun- 
dred prisoners he then entered Princeton. During this march 
many of his soldiers were without shoes, and their feet left the 
marks of blood upon the frozen ground. This hardship, and their 
want of repose, induced him to lead his army to a place of security 



15 



on the road to Morristown. Cornwallis in the morning broke up 
his camp and, alarmed for his stores at Brunswick, urged the 
pursuit. Thus the mihtary genius of the American commander 
rescued Philadelphia from the threatened danger, obliged the 
enem}', which had overspread Xew Jersey, to return to the neigh- 
borhood of New York, and revived the desponding spirit of his 
country. Having accomplished these objects, he retired to ]\Iorris- 
town, where he caused his whole army to be inoculated with the 
smallpox, and thus was freed from the apprehension of a calamity, 
which might impede his operation during the next campaign. 

On the last of May he removed his army to Middlebrook, 
about ten miles from Brunswick, where he fortified himself very 
strongly. An ineffectual attempt was made by Sir "William 
Howe to draw him from his position b}' marching towards Phila- 
delphia, but after Howe's return to New York he moved towards 
the Hudson in order to defend the passes in the mountains, in the 
expectation that a junction with Burgoyne, who was then upon 
the lakes, would be attempted. After the British general sailed 
from New York and entered the Chesapeake, in August, General 
Washington marched immediately for the defence of Philadelphia. 
On the 11th of September he was defeated at Brandy wine, with 
the loss of nine hundred in killed and wounded. A few days 
afterwards, as he was pursued, he turned upon the enemy, deter- 
mined upon another engagement, but a heavy rain so damaged 
the arms and ammunition, that he was under the absolute neces- 
sity of again retreating. Philadelphia was entered by Cornwallis 
on the ^Gth of September. On the Itli of October the American 
commander made a Avell-planned attack upon the British camp at 
Germantown ; but, in consequence of the darkness of the morn- 
ing and the imperfect discipline of his troops, it terminated in the 
loss of twelve hundred men in killed, wounded and prisoners. In 
December he went into winter quarters at Vallej' Forge, on the 
west side of the Schuj'lkill, about twentj'-five miles from Phila- 
delphia. Here his army was in the greatest distress for want of 
provisions, and he was reduced to the necessit}' of sending out 
parties to seize w4iat they could find. About the same time a 
combination, in which some members of Congress were engaged, 



16 



was formed to remove the commander-in-chief, and to appoint in 
his place Gates, whose successes of late had given him a high 
reputation. But the name of Washington was too dear to the 
great body of the Americans to admit of such a change. Not- 
withstanding the discordant materials of which his army was 
composed, there was something in his character which enabled 
him to attach both his officers and soldiers so strongly to him, 
that no distress could weaken their affection nor impair the vener- 
ation in which he was generally held. . Without this attachment 
to him the army must have been dissolved. General Conway, 
who was concerned in this faction, being wounded in a duel with 
General Cadwallader, and thinking his wound mortal, wrote to 
General Washington, " You are, in mj' ej'es, the great and good 
man." On the 1st of Febriiarj^ 1778, there were about four 
thousand men in camp unfit for duty for want of clothes. Of 
these scarcely a man had a pair of shoes. The hospitals also were 
filled with the sick. At this time the enemy, if they had marched 
out of their winter quarters, would easily have dispersed the 
American armj". 

The apprehension of the approach of a French fleet induced 
the British to concentrate their forces, and when they evacuated 
Philadelphia on the 17th of June, and marched toward New 
York, General Washington followed them. Contrary to the 
advice of a council he engaged in the battle of Monmouth on the 
28th, the result of which made an impression favorable to the 
cause of America. He slept in his cloak on the field of battle, 
intending to renew the attack the next morning, but at midnight 
the British marched off in such silence as not to be discovered. 
Their loss in killed was about three hundred, and that of the 
Americans sixty-nine. As the campaign now closed in the middle 
states, the American army went into winter quarters in the neigh- 
borhood of the highlands upon the Hudson. Thus, after the 
vicissitudes of two j'ears, both armies were brought back to the 
point from which they set out. During the j-ear 1779, General 
Washington remained in the neighborhood of New York. In 
January, 1780, in a \^^nter memorable for its severity, his utmost 
exertions were necessarj- to save the arm}- from dissolution. The 



17 



soldiers in general submitted with heroic patience to the want of 
provisions and clothes. At one time they ate every kind of horse 
food but ha3^ Their sufferings at length were so great, that in 
March two regiments mutinied, but the mutiny was suppressed 
and the ringleaders secured. In September the treachery of 
Arnold was detected. In the winter of 1781, such were again the 
privations of the army, that a part of the Pennsylvania line 
revolted and marched home. Such, however, was still their 
patriotism that they delivered up several British emissaries ta 
General Wayne, who hanged them as spies. 

Committing the defence of the posts on the Hudson to Gen- 
eral Heath, General Washington, in August, 1781, marched with 
Count Rochambeau for the Chesapeake, to cooperate with the 
French fleet there. The seige of Yorktown commenced on the 
28th of September, and on the 19th of October he reduced Corn- 
wallis to the necessity of surrendering, with upwards of seven 
thousand men, to the combined armies of America and France. 
The day after the capitulation, he ordered that those who were 
under arrest should be pardoned, and that divine service, in 
acknowledgment of the interposition of Providence, should be per- 
formed in all the brigades and divisions. This event filled 
America with joy, and was the means of terminating the war. 

Few events of importance took place in 1782. In March, 
1783, he exhibited his characteristic firmness and decision in 
opposing an attempt to produce a mutiny by anonymous letters. 
His address to his officers on the occasion displays, in a remark- 
able degree, his prudence and the correctness of his judgment. 
When he began to read it he found himself embarrassed by the 
imperfection of his sight. Taking out his spectacles he said, 
" These eyes, my friends have grown dim, and these locks white 
in the service of my country ; 3'et I have never doubted her jus- 
tice." He only could have repressed the spirit which was break- 
ing forth. On the 19th of April a cessation of hostilities was pro- 
claimed in the American camp. In June he addressed a letter to 
the governors of the several states congratulating them on the 
result of the contest in the establishment of independence, and 
recommending an indissoluble union of the states under one 



18 



federal head, a sacred regard to public justice, the adoption of a 
proper peace establishment, and the prevalence of a friendly dis- 
position among the people of the several states. It was with keen 
distress, as well as with pride and admiration, that he saw his 
brave and veteran soldiers, who had suffered so much, and who 
had borne the heat and burden of the war, returning peaceabl}- to 
their homes without a settlement of their accounts or a farthing 
of money in their pockets. 

On the ^oth of November New York was evacuated, and he 
entered it accompanied b}- Governor Clinton and many other 
citizens. On the ith of December he took his farewell of his 
brave comrades in arms. At noon the principal officers of the 
armj- assembled at Frances' tavern, and their beloved commander 
soon entered the room. His emotions were too strong to be con- 
cealed. Filling a glass with wine, he turned to them and said, 
"With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of 
you; I most devouth^ wish that j^our latter days may be as 
prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and 
honorable." Having drank, he added, " I cannot come to each 
of you to take my leave, but shall be obliged to jou if each of you 
will come and take me by the hand." General Knox, being pres- 
ent, turned to him. Incapable of utterance. Gen. Washington 
grasped his hand and embraced him; in the same affectionate 
manner he took his leave of each succeeding officer. In every 
eye was the tear of dignified sensibility, and • not a word was 
articulated to interrupt the silence and the tenderness of the scene. 

On the 2 .3rd of December, 1783, he resigned his commission 
to congress, then assembled at Annapolis. He delivered a short 
address on the occasion, in which he said, " I consider it an indis- 
pensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life by 
commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection 
of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of 
them to his holy keeping." He then retired to Mount Vernon to 
enjoy again the pleasures of domestic life. Here the expressions 
of the gratitude of his countrymen in affectionate addresses 
poured in upoii him, and he received every testimony of respect 
and veneration. 



19 



In his retirement, however, he could not overlook the public 
interests. He was desirous of opening by water-carriage a com- 
munication between the Atlantic and the western portions of our 
country, in order to prevent the diversion of trade down the 
Mississippi and to Canada, from which he predicted consequences 
injurious to the Union. Through his influence two companies 
were formed for promoting inland navigation. The legislature of 
Virginia presented him with three hundred shares in them, which 
he appropriated to public uses. In the year 1780 he was con- 
vinced, with other statesmen, of the necessity of substituting a 
more vigorous general government in the place of the impotent 
Articles of Confederation. Still he was aware of the danger of 
running from one extreme to another. He exclaims in a let- 
ter to Mr. Jay, ' ' What astonishing changes a few years are cap- 
able of producing ! I am told, that even respectable characters 
speak of a monarchial form of government without horror. From 
thinking proceeds speaking; thence to acting is often but a single 
step. But how irrevocable, and tremendous I What a triumph 
for our enemies to verify their predictions ! What a triumph for 
the advocates of despotism, to find that we are incapable of gov- 
erning ourselves, and that systems, founded on the basis of equal 
liberty, are merely ideal and fallacious!" 

In the following year he was persuaded to take a seat in the 
convention which formed the present constitution of the United 
States, and he presided in that body. In 1780, he was unanimous- 
ly elected the first President of the United States. It was with 
great reluctance that he accepted this office. His feehngs, as he 
said himself, were like those of a culprit going to the place of exe- 
cution. But the voice of a whole continent, the pressing recom- 
mendation of his particular friends, and the apprehension, that he 
should otherwise be considered as unwilling to hazard his reputa- 
tation in executing a system which he had assisted in forming, de- 
termined him to accept the appointment. In April he left Mount 
Vernon to proceed to New York, and to enter on the duties of his 
high office. He everywhere received testimonies of respect and 
love. At Trenton, the gentler sex rewarded him for his success- 
ful enterprise, and the protection which he afforded them twelve 



20 



years before. On a bridge was erected a triumphal arch, orna- 
mented with laurels and flowers, and supported by thirteen pillars, 
each encircled with wreaths of evdi'green. On the front of the 
arch was inscribed in large, gilt letters, "T/je Defender' of the 
Mothers, will also protect their daughters.'''' At this place he 
was met by a party of matrons, leading their daughters, who were 
dressed in white, and who, with baskets of flowers in their hands, 
sung the following ode, written for the occasion : 

Welcome, mighty chief, once more, 
Welcome to this grateful shore ; 
Now no mercenar}' foe 
Aims again the fatal blow, 
Aims at thee the fatal blow. 

Virgins fair and matrons grave. 
Those thy conqu'ring arms did save. 
Build for thee triumphal bowers ; 
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers, 
Strew your Hero's way with flowers. 

At the last line the flowers were strewn before him. After 
receiving such proofs of affectionate attachment, he arrived at 
New York, and was inaugurated first President of the United 
States on the thirtieth of April, 1789. 

In making the necessary arrangements of his household, he 
publicly announced, that neither visits of business nor of cere- 
mony would be expected on Sunday, as he wished to reserve that 
day sacredly to himself. At the close of his first term of four 
years he prepared a valedictory address to the American people, 
anxious to return again to the scenes of domestic life ; but, the 
earnest entreaties of his friends and the peculiar situation of his 
country, induced him to be a candidate for a second election. 
During his administration of eight years, the labor of establishing 
the different departments of a new government was accomplished ; 
and, he exhibited the greatest firmness, wisdom, and independence. 
He was an American, and he chose not to involve his country in 
the contests of Europe. He accordingly, with the unanimous ad- 
vice of his cabinet, consisting of Messrs. Jefferson, Hamilton, 
Knox, and Randolph, issued a proclamation of neutrality, April 



^2, 1793; a few days afterwards, lie heard of the commencement 
of the war between England and France. This measure con- 
tributed in a great degree to the prosperity of America. Its 
adoption was the more honorable to the president, as the general 
sympathy was in favor of the sister republic, against whom it was 
said Great Britain had commenced war for the sole purpose of 
imposing upon her a monarchial form of government. 

He preferred the peace and welfare of his country to the breath 
of popular applause. Another act, in which he proved himself to 
be less regardful of the public partialities and prejudices, than of 
what he conceived to be the public good, was the ratification of the 
British treaty. The English government had neglected to sur- 
render the Western posts, and by commercial restrictions and in 
other ways had evinced a hostile spirit towards this country. To 
avert the calamnity of another war, Mr. Jay was nominated as 
envoy extraordinary, in April, 1704. In June, 1795, the treaty, 
which Mr. Jay had made, was submitted to the Senate, and was 
ratified by that body on the condition that one article should be 
altered. While the President was deliberating upon it, an incor- 
rect copy of the instrument was made public by a Senator, and the 
whole country was thrown into a state of extreme irritation. At 
this period, he in August conditionally ratified it, and in Februar}^, 
1790, when it was returned from his Britannic Majesty with the 
proposed alteration, he declared it to be the law of the land. After 
this transaction, the House of Representatives requested him to 
lay before them the papers relating to the treaty, but he, with 
great independence, refused to comply with their request, as they 
could have no claim to an insi3ection of them, except upon a vote 
of impeachment, and as a compliance would establish a dangerous 
precedent. He had before this shown a disiDosition to maintain the 
authority vested in his office, by declining to affix his signature to 
a bill which had passed both Houses. 

As the period for a new election of a President of the United 
States approached, and after plain indications that the public voice 
would be in his favor, and when he probabl}" would be chosen for 
the third time unanimous!}^, he determined irrevocably to withdraw 
to the shades of private life. He published, in September, 1796> 



22 



his farewell address to the people of the United States. In the 
most earnest and affectionate manner he called upon them to cher- 
ish an immovable attachment to the National Union, to watch for 
its preservation with jealous anxiety, to discountenance even the 
suggestion that it could, in any event, be abandoned, and indig- 
nantly to frown upon the first dawning of every attempt to alien- 
ate any portion of our country from the rest. Overgrown military 
establishments he represented as particularly hostile to republican 
liberty. While he recommended the most implicit obedience to the 
acts of the established government, and reprobated all obstructions 
to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, 
under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, 
control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of 
the constituted authorities ; he wished also to guard against the 
spirit of innovation upon the principles of the constitution. Aware 
that the energy of the system might be enfeebled by alterations, 
he thought that no change should be made without an evident 
necessity ; and that in so extensive a country as much vigor as is 
consistent with liberty is indispensable. On the other hand he 
pointed out the danger of a real despotism by breaking down the 
partitions between the several departments of government, by 
destroying the reciprocal checks, and consolidating the different 
powers. Against the spirit of party, so peculiarly baneful in an 
elective government, he uttered his most solemn remonstrances, 
as well as against inveterate antipathies or passionate attach- 
ments in respect to foreign nations. While he thought that the 
jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly and impartially 
awake against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, he wished 
that good faith and justice should be observed towards all nations, 
and peace and harmony cultivated. In his opinion, honesty, no 
less in public than in private affairs, is always the best policy. 
Pro^adence, he believed, had connected the permanent felicity of a 
nation with its virtue. Other subjects, to which he alluded, were 
the importance of credit, of economy, of a reduction of the public 
debt, and of literary institutions; above all, he recommended 
religion and morality as indispensably necessary to political pros- 
perity. "In vain," says he, "would that man claim the tribute 

23 



BBBfl 



of patriotism, who should lahor to subvert these great pillars of 
human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and cit- 
izens." Bequeathing these counsels to his countrymen, he con- 
tinued in office until the 4th of March, 1707, when he attended 
the inauguration of his successor, John Adams, and, with compla- 
cenc}', saw him invested with the powers which had for so long a 
time been exercised by himself. He, then retired to Mount Ver- 
non, giving to the world an example, most humiliating to its 
Emperors and Kings; the example of a man, voluntarily disrob- 
ing himself of the highest authority, and returning to private life 
with a character having upon it no stain of ambition, of covetous- 
ness, of profusion, of luxury, of oppression, or of injustice. 

It was now that the soldier, the statesman, and the patriot, 
hoped to repose himself after the toils of so many years. But he 
had not been long in retirement before the outrages of Republican 
France induced our government to raise an army, of which, in 
Juh^, 1798, he was appointed commander-in-chief. Though he 
accepted the appointment, his services were not demanded, and 
he himself did not believe that an invasion would take place. 
Pacific overtures were soon made by the French Directory, but he 
did not live to see the restoration of peace. 

On Friday, December 13, 1799, while attending to some im- 
provements upon his estate, he was exposed to a slight rain, wet- 
ting his neck and hair. Unapprehensive of danger, he passed the 
afternoon in his usual manner, but at night he was seized with an 
inflammatory affection of the windpipe. The disease commenced 
with a violent ague, accompanied with some pain and a sense of 
stricture in the throat, a cough, and a difficult deglutition, which 
was soon succeeded by fever and a quick and laborious respira- 
tion. About twelve or fourteen ounces of blood were taken from 
him. In the morning his family physician, Dr. Craik, was sent 
for, and later in the day Dr. Dick of Alexandria, and Dr. Brown 
of Port Tobacco ; but the utmost exertions of medical skill were 
applied in vain. The appointed time of his death was near. 
Believing, from the commencement of his complaint, that it would 
be fatal, a few hours before his departure, after repeated efforts 
to be understood, he succeeded in expressing a desire that he might 



24 



be permitted to die without being disquieted by unavailing at- 
tempts to rescue him from his fate. After it became impossible 
to get anything down his throat, he undressed himself and went 
to bed, there to die. To his friend and physician, who sat on his 
bed, and took Iris head in his lap, he said, with difficulty, "Doctor, 
I am dying, and have been dying for a long time ; but, I am not 
afraid to die." Respiration became more and more contracted and 
imperfect, until between teii and eleven o'clock on Saturday 
night, when, retaining the full possession of his intellect, he ex- 
pired without a struggle. Thus, on the fourteenth day of Decem- 
ber, 1799, in the sixty-eighth yoRv of his age, died the father of 
his country, the man, "first in war, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his countrymen."'^ This event spread a gloom over the 
country, and the tears of America proclaimed the services and 
virtues of the hero and sage, and exhibited a people not insensible 
to his worth. The Senate of the United States in an address to 
the President on this melancholy occasion, indulged their patri- 
otic pride, while they did not transgress the bounds of truth in 
speaking of their WASHINGTON : 

" Ancient and modern names," said they, " are diminished 
before him. Greatness and guilt have too often been allied; but, 
his fame is whiter than it is brilliant. The destroyers of nations 
stood abashed at the majesty of his virtue. It reproved the in- 
temperance of their ambition, and darkened the splendor of vic- 
tory. The scene is closed, and we are no longer anxious lest mis- 
fortune should sully his glory, he has travelled on to the end of his 
journey, and carried with him an increasing weight of honor; he 
has deposited it safely where misfortune cannot tarnish it, where 
malice cannot blast it." 

General Washington was rather above the common stature ; 
his frame was robust, and his constitution vigorous. His exterior 
created in the beholder the idea of strength united with manly 
gracefulness.'' His eyes were of a gray color, and his complexion 
light. His manners were rather reserved than free. His person 
and whole deportment exhibited an unaffected and indescribable 

5. The resolution eoiitainins' this fitting expression was written by Gen. Henry Lee, (Light- 
horse Harry), andoffere^l by John Marshall, from Virginia, iu ths House of Representatives, 
December i9th, 1799. 

6. His height was near 6 feet and 3 inches, and his weight about 220 pounds. LaFayette 
says his hands were "the largest he ever saw on a man." 

25 



dignity, unmingled with hautiness, of which all who approached 
him were sensible. The attachment of those who possessed his 
friendship was ardent, but always respectful. His temper was 
humane, benevolent, and concilatory ; but there was a quickness 
in his sensibility to anything apparently offensive, which experi- 
ence had taugnt him to watch and correct. He made no preten- 
sions to vivacity or wit. Judgment rather than genius consti- 
tuted the most prominent feature of his character. As a military 
man he "was brave, enterprising and cautious. At the head of a 
multitude, whom it was sometiiues impossible to reduce to proper 
discipline before the expiration of their time of service, and having 
to struggle almost continually with the want of supplies, he yet 
was able to contend with an adversary superior in numbers, well 
disciplined, and completely equipped, and was the means of saving 
his country. The measure of his caution has bj^ some been rep- 
resented as too abundant ; but he sometimes formed a plan, which 
his brave officers thought was too adventurous, and sometimes 
contrary to their advice he engaged in battle. If his name had 
not been rendered illustrious by splendid achievements, it could 
not have been attributed to the want of military enterprise. He 
conducted the war with that consumate prudence and wisdom, 
which the sitaation of his country and the state of his army de- 
manded. He also possessed a firmness of resolution, which neith- 
er dangers nor difficulties could shake. In his civil administra- 
tion he exhibited repeated proofs of that practical good sense, of 
that sound judgment, which is the most valuable quantity of the 
human mind. More than once he put his whole popularity to 
hazard in pursuing measures which were dictated by a sense of 
duty, and which he thought would promote the welfare of his 
country. 

In speculation he was a real Republican, sincerely attached 
to the Constitution of the United States, and to that system of 
equal political rights, on which it is founded. Real liberty, he 
thought, was to be preserved only by preserving the authority of 
the laws, and maintaining the energy of government. Of incor- 
ruptible integrity, his ends were always upright, and the means 
which he employed were always pure. He was a politician to 



whom wiles were absolutely unknown. "When any measure of 
importance was proposed, he sought information, and was ready 
to hear, without prejudice, whatever could be said in relation to 
the subject; he suspended his judgment until it was necessary to 
decide ; but after his decision had been thus deliberately made, it 
was seldom shaken, and he was as active and persevering in exe- 
cuting, as he had been cool in forming it. He possessed an inate 
and unassuming modesty, which adulation would have offended, 
which the plaudits of millions could not betray into indiscretion, 
and which was blended with a high sense of personal dignity, and 
a just consciousness of the respect which is due to station. 

General Washington was blessed with abundant wealth, and he 
was not ignorant of the pleasures of employing it for generous 
purposes. His style of living was dignified, though he main- 
tained the strictest economy. While he was in the army he wrote 
to the superintendent of his estate in the following terms : "Let 
the hospitality of the house be kept up with regard to the poor. 
Let no one go hungry away. If any of this sort of people should 
be in want of corn, supply their necessities, provided it does not 
encourage them in idleness. I have no objection to your giving 
my money in charity, when you think it will be well bestowed; I 
mean that it is my desire that it should be done. You are to con- 
sider, that neither myself nor my wife are in the way to do these 
good offices." Thus was he beneficent, while, at the same time, 
he required an exact compliance with engagements. 

A pleasing proof of the generous spirit which governed him is 
exhibited in his conduct towards the son of his friend, the Mar- 
quis De LaFayette. The Marquis, after fighting in this country 
for American liberty, had returned to France ; but in the convul- 
sions of the French revolution he was exiled and imprisoned in 
Germany. General Washington gave evidence of sincere attach- 
ment to the unhappy nobleman, not only b}^ exerting all his influ- 
ence to procure his release from confinement, but bj" extending 
his patronage to his son, who made his escape from France, and 
arrived, with his tutor, at Boston, in 1795. As soon as he was 
informed of his arrival, he wrote to a friend requesting him to 
visit the young gentleman, and make him acquainted with the 



87 



relation between this coiintr}- and France, which would prevent 
the President of the United States from publicly espousing his in- 
terest, but to assure him of his protection and support. He also 
directed his friend to draw upon him for money to defray all the 
expenses which j^oung LaFayette might incur. 

With regard to the religious character of General Washington 
there have been different opinions. His life was upright and vir- 
tuous. He seldom uttered a profane expression, but it is under- 
stood that in a few instances during the war, particularly when 
he met General Lee' retreating in the battle of Monmouth, his lan- 
guage was unguarded in this respect. On the other hand, Gen- 
eral Washington, when at the head of the army, issued public 
orders calling upon his officers to discountenance the habit of pro- 
fanity ; he speaks in his writings of the necessity of imitating those 
divine characteristics "charity, humility, and a pacific temper of 
mind;" he gratefully acknowledged the interposition of Provi- 
dence in favor of this country. He principally supported an Epis- 

7. Geueral Charles Lee was a mi^st peculiar genius, anl the li^story oi his life is little else 
than the history of disputes, quarrels an :1 duels ia every part of the world. He was bi)rn in 
Wales, and seems to huve been pussessed of a military spirit, which le;l him to enter the army 
at an early age. He first came to America in 1?'56, and took part in the attack upon Ticonde- 
roga, in 1758, when Abercrombie was defeated. In 1763 he served as a colonel under Bur- 
goyne, in Portugal, and later entered llie I'lilish service. From 1771 to 1773 he rambled over 
all Europe, during which time he wasengageil in a duel with an officer in Italy, miu-dering his 
antagonist, escajjing. himself, with a loss at two fingers. He zeiilously supjicirted the cause of 
Amei-ica at the time ttie stamp aet was iiasseil. and having l<ist the favor of tlie ministry on 
account of his political sentiments, came to America in 1778. He Ijouglit a large tract of land 
in Virginia, where he lesiderl until 1775, when congress appointed him a ma:jor .general, and he 
accompanied Wasliingt on to Cambridge. He was given many responsible trusts which he 
executed with wisdom and energy. His bold measures carried terror whei-ever he appeared. 
He recommended that all tories be reijuested to take a test oath to take up arms, if called 
upon by congress, in defence of Americu. and that those "fanatics who might refuse should 
be carried into the interior." In 1770, while marching through New Jersey, he left camp to 
reconnoitre, and was taken prisoner and carried to New York, where he was held until 1778, 
when he was exchanged foi- Oeneral Prescott, taken at Newport. Shortly after the exchange, 
while engaged in the battle of Monmouth, he was detached by the commander-in-chief to 
make an jittack upon the rear of the enemy, and General Washington, wliile pressing forward 
to support liim. was astonished to find him retreating without having made a single effort to 
maintain his ground, and, under these circumstances, General Washington, it is said, ad- 
dressed him in terms of some warmth, and ordered him to check the enemy. Lee conducted 
himself with his usual bravery, and brought off his troops in good order when forced from 
the ground on which he had been placeil. However, his haughty temper could not brook the 
indignity wliicti lie believed to have been offered him on the field of l)attle. and he addressed a 
letter to (ieneral Wasliington demandinn- reparation for the injiu-y. For this act of disrespect, 
and for disobedience of oril(>rs. he was tried liy court martial and sentence 1 to be suspended 
for one year. Lee defended himself witli .great ability, and seems to have justified his retreat 
under the circiunstances. l)ut his disivsiiectful letters to the commander-in-chief could not be 
overlooked. He retired to his instate in Virginia, where he lived in a style peculiar to him- 
self. Glass windows and jilaster woidd have been extravagances in his house. His only 
companions were a few select autliors and his three dogs. He sold his estate in 1783, and 
removed to Philadelphia and took lodgings in an inn, but he was taken witli fever four days 
after his arrival, from which he died Octobers, 1783. In his person he was rather above 
medium size, and his remarkable a'piiline nose rendered his face s jmewliat disagreeable He 
was master of a most genteel address, yet rude in his manners and excessively ne.gligent in his 
appearance. As an officer he was brive and able, and did much towards disciplining the 
American army. He was a correct and elegant classical scholar, having acquired a competent 



copal Church m the neighborhood of Mount Vernon, where he 
constantly attended public worship.*^ 

Towards his slaves General Washington manifested the great- 
est care and kindness. Their servitude lay with weight upon his 
mind, and he directed in his will that they should be einancipated 
on the decease of his wife. There were insuperable difficulties in 
the way of their receiving freedom previous to this event. 

On the death of Martha Washington, May 22, 1802, the estate 
of General Washington, as he had no children, was divided 
according to his will among his and her relations. It amounted, 
by his own estimate, to more than five hruidred thousand dollars. 

The public addresses and other productions of General Wash- 
ington's pen are written in a style of dignified simplicity. Some 
have seen so much excellence in his writings that they have been 
ready to transfer the honor to his secretaries ; but nothing has 
appeared under his name, to which his own powers were inade- 
quate. A volume of epistles, confidential and domestic, attrib- 
uted to him, was published in 1777, and republished about the 
year 1796. Of these General Washington, in a letter to the Sec- 
retary of State, in 1797, declared the following to be forgeries: A 
letter to Lund Washington, dated June 12, 1776; a letter to John 
Parke Custis, dated June 18, 1776; letters to Lund AVashington, 
dated July 8, July 16 and July 22, 1777; and a letter to Mrs. 
Washington, dated June 24, 1776. His official letters to the 
American Congress, written during the war, were published in 
two volumes, .8vo., 1795. After his death his letters to Arthur 
Young and Sir John Sinclair on agriculture and the rural economy 
of the United States were published . 

The death of General Washington, created almost world- 
wide interest, and the noblest exertions of historians, poets, 
and artists were all called into action. At Birmingham, England, 

skill in Greek and Latin, while his fondness for traveling made him acquainted with the Italian, 
Spanish, German and P'rencli languages, and he both wrote and spoke his native language with 
propriety, force and beauty. His temper was severe. He was vindictive, avaricious, im- 
moral arid profane, and he ridiculed every tenet of religion. In his last will he directed that 
he should not be buried in any church or churchyard, or within a mile of any Presbyterian or 
Baptist meeting house. He had kept so much bad company in this country, when living, 
that he was unwilling, as he says, to continue it when dead. After his death memoirs of his 
life, with his essays and letters, were published. 

8. The most authentic history says Washington was not a communicant. 
29 



a handsome medal of the great American was struck off and 
widely circulated. Round the profile are these words, "George 
Washington, ob. 1-i December, 1T99, AE. 68." On the reverse is 
the figure of Fame with her trumpet, having this inscription en- 
circled with oak and laurel, "Emancipator of America." 

Finally, what did Washington not do for his native country 
and the world that mortal man could do ? May the blessings he 
obtained for us continue to be most sacredl}' esteemed and reso- 
lutely guarded for the sake of a nation's honor and a nation's joy ! 
This real patriot, considered either in his militarj' or legislative 
capacity, possessed a degree of merit which taxes the powers 
of commendation. His prudence and fortitude in war, his wisdom 
and moderation during the period of his presidencj'^, to which he 
was twice elected, together with his determined firmness on other 
occasions, in preserving peace with the world, entitle him to the 
reverence and gratitude of mankind throughout succeeding gen- 
erations. 

Sweet Peace ! do thou his relics keep, 
With olives blooming round thy head : 

And stretch thy wings across the deep, 
To bless the nations with the shade. 

Stand on the pile immortal Fame, 
Broad stars adorn th}' brightest robe; 

Thy thousand voices sound his name, 
In silver accents round the globe. 

Flattery shall faint beneath the sound, 
AVhile hoary truth inspires the song : 

Env}' grow pale and bite the ground. 
And slander gnaw her fork}' tongue ! 

Night and the grave remove your gloom, 

Darkness becomes the vulgar dead ! 
But glory bids the patriot tomb. 

Disdain the horrors of a shade ! 

Glorj' with all her lamps shall burn. 
And watch the warrior's sleeping clay ; 

Till the last trumpet rouse his urn, 
To aid the triumphs of the day ! 

Watts. 

80 



George Washington was made a Mason in the old Lodge at 
Fredericksbarg, Virginia, having been Initiated November 4th, 
1752; Passed March 3rd, 1753, and Raised August 4th, 1753, In 
1779 he declined the office of Grand Master of the State, butin 1788 
he was elected and served as Worshipful Master of Alexandria 
Lodge, (now Alexandria-Washington), No. 22, at Alexandria, 
Virginia. 

On April 30th, 1789, he was sworn in as President of the 
United States, the oath being administered upon the Bible of St. 
John's Lodge, of New York City, by the Grand Master of the 
State, Robert R. Livingston, who was also at that time Chancellor 
of New York. 

On September 18th, 1793, he laid the corner stone of the Capi- 
tol, as Grand Master pro tem. and Worshipful Master of No. 22, 
Virginia. 

He died on Saturday, December 14th, 1799, and was buried 
on Wednesday, December 18tli, with Masonic honors. 



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